23. ‘Rebel’
TWENTY-THREE
‘REBEL’
MYA
I’m wiped. It was a long-ass day. Today, I went through all of this year’s discipline actions I’ve had to take with our members. Each year I have to collect any unacceptable actions from sisters during meetings, any threats that were made toward our club or a sister specifically, and just keep everything running smoothly. Other clubs consider the S-a-A like the club’s enforcer, but in the Devil’s Handmaidens our enforcer is Shadow. If she needs help, she’ll call on who has the specialty she’s looking for during that specific situation. Her usual go-to currently is Spirit from The Blue Sky Sanctuary and Dottie. Raven and I each have our strengths but Shadow rarely calls on us, and I get it. Spirit is like Shadow’s twin when it comes to their torture skills.
When I walk into the house I hear arguing, which—damn it—all I want is to get into some comfy lounge clothes then get dinner together and chill. My head is spinning and I’m not feeling the best. Atlas told me earlier he should be home around the regular time, which means we can have a “normal” dinner, whatever the hell that means. Stomping into the family room, Thanos and Stefanos are nose to nose. What the shit? I think to myself. Things seem to be a lot better since I convinced Atlas to put all three boys into therapy. It turns out each of them have some issues that pertain to their mom, Mindy. Whistling, both boys turn to look at me then go right back to in each other’s faces. When Thanos shoves Stefanos, all hell breaks loose. Trying to separate two growing kids wasn’t on my agenda today. I grab Thanos by the shoulders and kinda push and direct him to the sectional, shoving him down on his ass. Turning, Stefanos is directly behind me, so I grab him and get his ass in one of the recliners. Once he’s in it, I pull the handle and his feet fly up. Then I give both shit.
“What the shit is going on, and who said it was okay for you two to get physical? If I hadn’t walked in at that moment, what were you going for, to try and kick each other’s asses? Let’s take a few breaths, then someone—I don’t really care who—is going to explain what the heck I walked in on. I’m going to get these clothes off. I’ll be right back. I’m telling you that neither of you better move out of where I planted your asses. And I’m not joking. Think about what your punishment should be because I’m telling you, something is either getting taken away or more chores will be on you for the next week. Now I’ll be back down in less than five minutes.”
Turning, I am almost to the stairs when the doorbell rings. What the fuck, why didn’t my phone give me a notice? Gonna have either Atlas or Raven look at it. Since I’ve been spending my time between here and the ranch, Raven took it upon herself to hook Atlas up with the best security system possible. Took some time to get the Giannopoulos men on board, but with Apollo and Athena spending time here, Atlas knew how the security made his parents feel safe. Walking toward the front door, I check the side window and see Sheriff George and Yoggie standing there, I instantly know something is wrong. Flinging the door open, I startle them both but neither says a word. I wait and finally ask them in. Walking toward the kitchen, I see the boys exactly where I told them to stay. I do the only thing I can think of.
“You two, go to your rooms and close your doors. I want you to either sit at your desks or lie on your beds and think about what was going on when I walked in. Now move your butts.”
They both get up, running up the stairs. I hear first one then the other bedroom door slam. Turning, I look from Sheriff George to Yoggie and back. Trying to summon my courage, I swallow and just ask.
“Is it Atlas or Konstantin?”
Sheriff George looks to Yoggie then back at me.
“Rebel, it’s neither. I’m sorry and I would have waited for Atlas, but we’re shorthanded and I know he wouldn’t care if we tell you. Earlier today, a rancher called in a body found in one of their secondary pastures. When we went out and after locating said body, it turned out to be, well, ummm, it’s Mindy, Rebel.”
It feels like he punched me in the chest. Oh my God, the boys’ mother. How is that possible, we just ran into her a week or two ago at the grocery store. She looked a little better and she even said hi to the boys. Atlas was just glad she didn’t cause a scene. She even asked about the boys’ grandparents, which I thought was nice.
“Damn, how is that possible?”
Yoggie moves a bit closer whispering.
“Rebel, it looks to be a drug overdose, though we are waiting on some results from the coroner. Might want to call Atlas, tell him to come home.”
That’s when I hear the garage door open and a car entering and parking. It’s either Atlas or Konstantin. With my fingers crossed, I pray for Atlas. When he walks in, I see the surprise on his face when he sees George and Yoggie in the kitchen. Something crosses his face as he places his stuff on the counter, moving to me. After the pleasantries, he asks why they are here. I hang on as Sheriff George tells him that his ex-wife and mother of his boys is dead. I feel his body jerk before his eyes look toward the stairs. He glances down at me and I nod.
“They are in their rooms on a middle school kid time-out.”
As we hear the details, I’m beyond worried on how the kids are going to take the news. After the sheriff and Yoggie answer all of Atlas’s questions best as they can, they take their leave. Looking at Atlas, I can see he doesn’t know how to deal with this unsettling news. Sitting, I don’t say a word just wait, giving him time to process. When the front door opens and Konstantin walks in, Atlas’s time is up. Just looking at his dad and me, our boy knows something is wrong. Walking in, he drops his books close to the hall closet, then moves right to us.
“Dad, what is it, Yia-yia and Papou?”
Seeing Atlas unable to answer, I grab Konstantin’s hand and look him in the eye.
“Konstantin, no, it’s not your grandparents. I’m sorry, honey, it’s your mom, Mindy.”
Looking between the two of us, he sees something as his shoulders drop. Knowing there is no easy way to say it, I just give it to him.
“Konstantin, I have some really bad news. Earlier today, Sheriff George got a call and when he went to check it out, turns out it was your mom. Honey, she’s gone.”
His eyes get huge before he drops down, head in my lap, howling, not what I expected. Grabbing him, I pull him up next to me, telling him to let it out. Hearing a noise, I see both Thanos and Stefanos. I motion them to us and put Stefanos between Atlas and me, while letting Thanos sit next to his dad. Atlas snaps out of it and gently he tells both boys their mom has passed away. We sit together for a long time, no one saying a word. I mean, what can you say?
Turns out someone murdered Mindy, or that’s what the sheriff’s department thinks. Truly it doesn’t matter, except the boys lost their mom. Athena and Apollo came by as soon as the word got to them. So did Tank and Momma Diane, and most of my club sisters either came or stopped by to see that we were okay. Through it all I kept my eyes on Atlas, as he seems to be shrinking right in front of my eyes. Not sure how, but Tank saw something because he starts to tell everyone we need some family time. When it was just him and Momma Diane, he told Atlas that this wasn’t his fault. That’s when he loses it. No one knows what to do, though Tank gently tells the boys to go into the kitchen and someone will be there in a minute or two. From what we are being told, it was a drug deal gone bad. Or that’s the way it was set up, I don’t know. Shadow and Spirit went to the crime scene, along with Freak and Yoggie. Looks like either Mindy or someone overamped her with cocaine. Tank told Atlas he’d take care of the coroner while Momma Diane said she’ll handle the arrangements for Atlas, who just nods. Once everyone is gone, he calls the boys back down and tells them what he knows. The five of us sit in the great room just trying to make sense of this. When the two younger ones fall asleep and Atlas goes upstairs to take a shower, Konstantin and I walk into the kitchen.
Without asking him, I start to make hot chocolate until I feel arms around me. I turn and hold him tightly.
“Rebel, why does this shit keep happening? I mean, our grandparents, the whole kidnapping and rescue. We are all already in therapy, what else can we do to get this shit to move on? Now this. She wasn’t the best mom out there, but she was ours. How do I help my brothers when I don’t even know how to process this?”
I have no answers, so I sit here, my arm around his shoulders, pulling him in tightly. Then he shocks me to my core.
“I remember Dad telling us when she left that any person can either produce or have a child, but it takes a special person to be a parent. You’ve been more of a mother to the three of us than she ever was. I’ve wanted to ask you for a while. Why do you call me Konstantin when everyone else calls me Kon?”
I know he’s trying to avoid the death of Mindy, and I’m not going to be the one to make him face it. I just give it to him straight.
“Konstantin is such an exceptionally cool-ass name and to me you’re very special, so why not use such a cool name for a badass kiddo?”
He face-plants into my chest just as he starts to softly weep. This is how Atlas finds us about fifteen minutes later, with red eyes and wet hair. He pulls Konstantin off of me and helps him to the sectional where the four of them lie together, wrapped around each other. I go upstairs to give them some time and me some quiet time to process what just happened. After I take a shower, partially dry my hair, and put on some clean pajamas, I walk out of the master bathroom to find Atlas and Konstantin sitting on the edge of the bed, I guess waiting on me. It’s Konstantin who comes toward me.
“Both Thanos and Stefanos want all of us to sleep together downstairs, so we are here to get you.”
I nod ’cause at this moment I’d give them anything if I could. So, the three of us make our way downstairs and with the television in the background playing softly, we sit and the boys ask questions, I guess they never asked before about their mom. And Atlas tries to be as honest as possible without causing more pain to his boys. When Konstantin sits next to me, I put my head on his shoulder, and before I know it, my head is falling forward. Last thing I hear is Atlas’s deep, husky voice trying to help his sons through more drama . He’s a great dad, I think to myself as I fade deeply into sleep.